DUANE
Duane's take
The way I tell it, I'm going by what the official marker says — so let's see what Turkey, Texas has been keeping to itself. Floyce Oliver Ham — most folks knew him as F.O. — left his family's farm in Beaver, Oklahoma, at fifteen years old, looking for business opportunities. He landed in Turkey, Texas, and opened the town's very first barber shop.
That shop moved around for a while before F.O. did something permanent about it. In the spring of 1925, he put up a brick commercial building — narrow, rectangular, built to last. The bricks themselves are deep red and black, that rug-textured kind, stamped by Acme Brick Company out of Denton and dated 1924.
Running bond pattern on the façade, a display window up front, transom windows for ventilation. This wasn't a man guessing at the future. This was a man staking a claim.
The shop settled right into the middle of Turkey's business district and started to flourish. F.O.'s younger brother Clayton joined him as a partner — the Ham brothers now, running the place together. For a quarter, you could walk out with a haircut and a shave.
While you waited for an open chair, somebody would polish your shoes and boots. And if you needed a proper bath or shower — well, Ham's was the only place in town that had public facilities, fed by rainwater caught in a brick cistern near the back of the building. In a small town, that kind of usefulness becomes legend before anybody thinks to write it down.
Now. Here's where the story turns. In 1928, the Ham brothers hired a young man named Bob Wills.
Wills had grown up right there in Turkey. He'd gone to Dendy's Barber College in Amarillo, earned his state license, and came back ready to work. He lived with F.O.
Ham's family for a time, barbering out of chair four. And between haircuts — between haircuts, mind you — he played fiddle. Word got around.
Crowds gathered at the shop, spilled out onto Main Street, just to hear him play. In 1929, Bob Wills stopped barbering. He went on to found the western swing band Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys.
Music, movies — fame found him. But here's what the marker wants you to know: after all of that, Wills and his band came back to Turkey and performed a free concert right in front of the barber shop. Chair four to center stage, and he still remembered where he started.
F.O. Ham married Leona Keever in 1919. Their son Harold began working in the shop in 1942 — at twelve years old.
Harold kept the business going, and by the time Ham's Barber Shop finally closed in 2001, four generations of Hams had worked inside those Acme brick walls. A haircut for twenty-five cents. A cistern full of rainwater.
A fiddler in chair four drawing crowds to Main Street. Ham's Barber Shop in Turkey, Texas — a gathering place for news and fellowship, the marker says, important to local culture and heritage. Some buildings just hold more history than their square footage should allow.
What the marker says
Floyce Oliver (F.O.) Ham (1896-1967) left his family's farm in Beaver, Oklahoma, at age 15 in search of business opportunities. He settled in Turkey and opened the town's first barber shop, which had various locations before he built a brick commercial building in the spring of 1925. The narrow rectangular plan building features a brick fa��ade in running bond pattern, a display window and transom windows for ventilation. The deep red and black "rug textured" bricks are stamped by Acme Brick Company of Denton and dated 1924. The shop flourished in its location in the middle of Turkey's business district, and F.O."s younger brother, Clayton (1907-1959), joined him in the shop as a partner. Along with a haircut and shave for 25 cents, customers could get shoes and boots polished while they waited for an open chair. Ham's Barber Shop also offered the only public bath and shower facilities in town, with rainwater captured in a brick cistern near the back of the building. In 1928, the Ham brothers hired Bob Wills (1905-1975), who grew up in Turkey, attended Dendy's Barber College in Amarillo, and acquired his state license. Wills lived with F.O. Ham's family for a time in Turkey, barbering in chair four and playing fiddle between haircuts, often drawing large crowds to the shop and Main Street. In 1929, Wills stopped barbering and soon founded the western swing band "Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys." After achieving fame in music and movie industries, Wills and his band came back to Turkey and performed a free concert in front of the barber shop. F.O. married Leona Keever (1893-1985) in 1919. Their son, Harold, began working in the shop in 1942 at age twelve and operated the business until it closed in 2001, by which time four generations of Hams had worked in the shop. As a longtime commercial enterprise and as a gathering place for news and fellowship, Ham's Barber Shop is remembered for its importance in local culture and heritage.